Three most useful gauges...

[Shaman]

I'm looking at getting a boost gauge for the Move, and need another two gauges to put into the DIN panel. I am trying to decide between a AFR (air/fuel ratio) gauge, a voltmeter, and an ammeter.

The AFR gauge is kinda just there as a pretty thing, not really that interested, should be easy to setup. Same goes for the voltmeter, but I don't know the degree of difficulty of setting up the ammeter. Car won't be modded, and I would like to have the boost and an electic gauge, but I can't decide which way to go.

 

[Quest]

manifold vacuum gauge and voltmeter.

 

[eljefino]

Ammeters are silly and require splicing into the thick wire from your alternator, not a good idea in modern cars IMO.

Volts would be the easiest gauge ever as all you need is in-cabin electricity. Will tell you almost as much, anyway.

I would do an oil pressure gauge as the 3rd item.

 

[wapacz]

how is the turbo cooled. If it dump most of its heat into the oil then maybe a oil temp gauge though you could probably tell a good bit about the temp of the oil with an accurate pressure gauge.

 

[Eddie]

Oil pressure will alert you to a lowering of oil viscosity i.e. heat. AFR with give real time information on combustion temperature and efficiency. These are my two picks and the reasons I choice them.

 

[OVERKILL]

Oil pressure and oil or coolant temp.

 

[Shaman]

Turbo is oil and water cooled. Don't plan on really beating on it, and will already have a sandwich adapter in for the bypass filter, so I don't know where to get the oil pressure or temp from.

 

[MikeR]

ScanGauge, ScanGauge, and ScanGauge.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Shaman
Turbo is oil and water cooled. Don't plan on really beating on it, and will already have a sandwich adapter in for the bypass filter, so I don't know where to get the oil pressure or temp from.


Most engines have a factory sender somewhere, you can add a "T", or find another blocked off spot, which there are often plenty of depending on the engine.

 

[Shaman]

Originally Posted By: MikeR
ScanGauge, ScanGauge, and ScanGauge.


I would already have one if it had a OBD2 port.


Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Most engines have a factory sender somewhere, you can add a "T", or find another blocked off spot, which there are often plenty of depending on the engine.


I will try to find one if I have some time to get down to that area.

 

[Gary Allan]

Tap your oil pressure off of your feed line to the bypass filter. Just do it as close to the sandwich as possible. If the hose is too long, your readings may be off when the oil warms up if it's tapped at the bypass filter. Oil temp might work there too ..but the refresh rate through the bypass may skew the reading.

 

[Tosh]

Compass and tire pressure monitor

 

[mazduh30]

Vacuum guage is also good I think.

 

[Shaman]

Originally Posted By: mazduh30
Vacuum guage is also good I think.


Boost gauge will be 30-0-20. Just had a guy sell the Doost, volt and AF gauges right out from under me. Asked me if I wanted them then 12 hours later said they were sold.

 

[BuickGN]

Boost, oil, water temp. A/F guage is retarded unless you're running a wideband. I laugh at ricers that along with their pillar mounted extinguishers, stickers, and big exhaust, they have an assortment of pillar mounted vacuum guage, volts, and bright LED A/F guage. Maybe even an 8" tach with shift light mounted where everyone can see it.

 

[milehighassassin]

It really depends on what your car already has.

For a forced induction car, a boost/vacuum gauge is a must.

Maybe EGT, Oil temp and Oil pressure.

Most cars have a coolant gauge. I don't see the need of a volt gauge. Tranny temp is nice for a truck or vehicles that tows a lot (most newer trucks have this OEM).

 

[Shaman]

I agree BuickGN, but without a way to tune the car, a $300 wideband gauge is 10 times the cost for just as much usefulness, unless you think a boost controller and a progressive alcohol system would be enough to increase power. I want the volt because the charging systems on these cars are weak, simply because the alt is small, as is the engine. IF I could find a place to get oil info from, I would love to do an oil temp gauge. I see the coolant temp sender in the front of the block, but I don't know how I would go about getting the other sender into it.

 

[Shaman]

Are there T"s sold to tap into the water temp location?

 

[Shaman]

Ok, I think I found a way to tie into the oil, while still being able to use the bypass filter. I found this

http://www.glowshiftdirect.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=271

2 3/8 NPT ports, and 2 1/8 NPT ports. Looks like I can use it for the bypass filter, and thread in an oil temp or pressure gauge. Anyone see a reason not to use this instead of the perma-cool I have now

 

[Papa Bear]

12, 20 and 410 ......